Spreader leg and drag



Aug. 10, 1943. N. .1. BOEHM hm. 2,326,325

SPREADER LEG Aim DRAG Filed May 29, 1941 Sheets-Sheet 1 M6471? d 505/). BY W0 5 57308.

INVENTORS.

z- 3- N.J.B OEHM an. 2,326,325

SPREADER LEG AND DRAG Filed May 29, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS; Mew/7N 1 508/01.

other materials on the soi Patented Aug. 10, 1943:

UNITED STATES, FATE SPREADER-LEG'A'ND RAG l Norman J. Boehm, Detroit, andwnvvid EJ -t'ub,

Grosse Pointe Park; Mich., assignors to Allied Manufacturers, Inc.,' Detroit Mich.' Application May 29, 1941, Serial No. 395,718

' 6 Claims. (01. zvs- -z I Our invention pertains to distributors for scattering fertilizer and other loose fluent materialson the earth, as for preparing a seed bed for example.

It isan object of our invention to provide a spreader of an improved simplified construction which is more convenient to use for more effec'-- Y scope of our invention, such as relate'to'the arrangement, operation andfunction of therelated elements of the structure, to variousdetail of construction and to combinations of parts,ele-

ments per se, and to economies of manufacture and numerous other features as will be apparent from a consideration of the specification in con junction with the drawings disclosing specific embodiments of my invention, similar reference characters being applied to corresponding elements throughout, andinwhich: I

Fig. 1 is aside elevational view of a distributor having a combined support and spreader leg or drag in accordancewith our invention;

' Fig; 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2-' 2 of Fig. 1; V

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional View taken on line 3-30fFi812; V 1 V Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the distributori Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view showing the stop blanked out of the leg for engaging the hopper; a it Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view showing another embodiment of the combined support leg and spreader attached to the distributor hopper; and V Fig. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary view illusleg and spreader.

trating still another embodiment" of the support Referring more specifically to Figsl' 1, 2,"3-'and' 4; w

it will be seen that such a distributor comprises essentially a hopper having two side walls 3 arranged in a generally V-shape, open at the top and having a series of openings 5 provided near the bottom of the hopper in one side wall there of, which is the rear wall. The distributorhcpperfwhich comprises end walls I is supported on and carried ontwo'wheels 9 having stub axles 7 l l secured in and extending from the' hubs, through suitable bearingplates' l'3 eon the end V walls, into thei hopper The inner endsof'the axles H are secured to the ends of an agitator-l5 extending therebetween in'thelower portion of the hopper.

As the distributor is pushed along by a handle I! projecting from'the'rea'r wall of thefhopper, the'agitator is rotated and i the loose material in the hopper is slowly and uniformly sifted through the openings 5 onto th ground. The details of the construction of such dis tributors,andthe 7 mode of operationthereof, is'well known in the prior art. Patent Nos. 1,957,594 and 1,976,725

disclose prior constructions'whereon our presen't l invention maybe advantageously utilized and there are alsoother distributors which may be improved by the addition of our presentinven tion.

providethenecessary strength and rigidity; y The U-shaped spreader 5-9 is made of a suitablesi'z'e to have the ends of theside legs 2! disposed'j'ada jacent'and pivotally' secured to the opposite ends pins 23 extending there through. The side legs 21 of the U-shaped mem of the. hopper, as by pivot be! are of a suitable length so that the yoke 25 rests upon theground to serve as a support when the'distributor is stationary and tofserve as a drag for moving the grass or other distributed material when the distributor is motion. The

side legs 2| of the U shaped spreader'support are I provided with inwardly projecting stops 2? suitably disposed to engage the h per for supporting the hopper which tends to tip backwardly and spillthe contents as soon as the operator ceases to hold the handle. A shown,

. the stops 21- may be formed by being blanked or struck'out from the strip of metal forming the U-shaped'member, although such stop projec- 'tions may-be provided in any suitable manner;

When theoperator 'grasps the handle i1 and:

pushes the distributor, thehopper istilted forwardlyaway from the inwardly directed stop I sothatfthe U-s'haped drag member is released'to move freely over thecontour of the ground for leveling the soil and uniformly spreading the fer l tilizer or other loose materialg" I In order to augment the effectiveness of'the U-shaped member as a spreader, an auxiliary U-' shaped spreader 29 is also preferably provided and secured pivotally: theretoso that it does not In accordance with our'invention, we providea J combined supporting" leg and spreading drag which is a substantially U-shaped member l9 made of strapironof a'suitalole cross sectionto ack wall of the hop- L Q fromthe legs.

interfere with thesupporting function thereof. For this purpose the auxiliary spreader 29 1s preferably formed of around rod bent to a U- shape' with inwardly bent terminals 31 passin inwardly through holes in the side legs 2! of the support member. The auxiliary spreader 29 is easily installed or removed by springing the inwardlybent terminals 3l into or out from th holes in the side legs 2 I.

In operation the operator grasps the handle I! and pushes the distributor along over the ground. This operation causes the hopper to be tilted ments maybe made other than herein disclosed, v

' and the present disclosure is illustrative mereslightly forward and. away from the inwardly extending stops 21 so that'the yoke 25 ofthe main drag member is then free tofollow the contour of the soilfor uniformly spreading and scattering the fertilizer or other material and it mayalso' of the main drag and serves to more perfectly scatter, level'or spread the soil andzfertilizer to+ gether- When the Eoperator has completed the task,v he merely releases the handle and the hopair of the distributor their tiltsbackwardly against the legs whiehs'erve as a support so the hopper cannottip over backward. V V

, 6 shows a different embodiment." comprising two= separately disposed support. legs 35, one end ofeachbeing pivotally attached to the endwall i of the hopper as by pivot pins 35.

' Thelegs 33- are made-ofstrips of metal, suchasv strap iron, and the lowerend of each leg is pro- .vided; with a bent portion forming a foot 3-} adapted to rest uponthe-groundfor supporting.

the hopper. when-the distributor. is stationary. In. this p0sition,.the upward movement of each; supporting leg 33 is limited by: a stop. clasp 3.9

secured on eachend-wall oithe hopper, as by; rivets 4|.

Axdrag'rod 43 is provided which is. pivotally interconnected between the lower. ends, of: the.

legs 33.. The dragrod 43- is preferably a slender. 1

rod which is-rather flexible so. that it will fol: low the contour of the sci-L; To augment the function of the drag rod a ,chai-nQASis also pref-"1 era-bly stretched to drag behind the rod by having'the'ends loopedinto loops. formed in the" rod 43. The operation- 05 this embodiment is similar to that previously described.

, Jim-Fig-7: is shown anothenemb dimentoi. our combined support leg and drag comprising. a

"scribed with reference to the first embodiment of our invention. In. accordance-with.- th-is emmeans for pivotally supporting said brush th 7 ly, the invention comprehending the variations thereof.

We claim: a f 7 l. A distributor having in combination, a

hopper for carrying a fluent material to be disbehind when the distributor is operating and'to rest on the ground and support the hopper when "thed'istributor is not in operation.

" 2.'A distributor having in combination, a

' hopper for carrying a fluent material to be disserve to level the soil. The auxiliary drag element 29 draws lightly over the soil at the rear.

hopper, a U- shaped member comprising legs adapted to be disposed adjacent theopposite ends of the hopper anda yoke adapted to drag on theground behind the distributor, stops projecting inwardly from said legs, and: means pivotally attaching the ends of said legs to the: ends of the hopper to provide. a dragwhen operating and a-support when stationary. 3. A distributor having in: combination; a hopper for carrying: a fluent material to. .be. distributed upon the ground, wheels carrying said hopper; a U-shaped; member comprising legs adapted to be disposed adjacent the opposite ends of the hopper. and a yoke adapted to drag on the: ground behind the distributor, stops pro-- jectinginwardly from said legsga second U shaped member.. being.pivotally secured in the legsof the first member for dragging the yoke of the second member behind .the yoke of the first U -sh aped member,- and means pivotally at-- a support whenstationary. r

y .4. A distributor; having in combination, hopper for carrying-a fluent material to be .d=iS- tributed upon .the ground wheels carrying said hopper, a Ugshaped member.ucomprisingii legs adapted to be disposed adjacent the opposite ends of the hopper and a yoke ad'apted'to drag. on the ground behind the distributor, a brushiota -suitable length to extend between 'sai'd'legs,

' between to brush the ground-in front of the u-sha'pedrmember 2i of strap iron. which. is i bodiment of our invention-{the auxiliary drag consists of a large brush il which. is pivotallysuspended between the legs M, in any suitable manner, as by angle-bearing lugs 53' wl iich are pivotally supported on pivot. pins 55 projecting The brush-5| is-so Su p rted that'it sweeps along over the surface of .the soil, leveling and scattering" any large bunches or *piles of fertilizer which havebeen; droppedfrom' the hopper. lhe cross-bar or yoke of. the U- shaped member then drags over the soil with greater weight or pressureto more thoroughly level: or scatter and disperse the. loose'material withthe soil. The legs 2| of the drag also serve to support the hopper from tilting back and spilling when the distributor is not inoperation, as previously described.

It is apparent that within the-scope o f thein vention,. modifications and different arrangeyoke. ofthe U-shaped member, and means pivotally attaching the ends of said legs to theend's of the hopper to provide a drag. when operating and means adapted to cooperate with said legsin forming asupport forysaid' hopper when stationary- 5. A; distributor having in combination, ahopper for carrying loose materialto be distributed upon the ground, wheels for'carrying the hopper, two separate support legs, means for pivotally mounting one end of each leg to a: different end of said hopper, a clamp-ing'device on the hopper for securingea'chleg so that the extended ends of said legs rest upon the ground to support the hopper from tilting when not in use, and means connected-between the extended ends of said legs for dragging upon the ground to spreadand distribute the' material when the distributorjis in operation.

- 6. A distributor; having in combination, a hopper for carrying loose-,Qmaterial to' be dis:- tributed upon theground-wheels for carrying. the hopper, twoseparate supportlegs,imeansfor. pivotallymounting.oneend of each .leg to a difierent end of said hopper, stop means on the hopper adapted to secure the legs against movement when the distributor is not in operterial when the distributor is in operation and a chain secured at the ends to spaced portions of said rod for dragging over the soil. 7

JNORMAN J;. BQEI-INL "DAVID E. STAUB.

on the ground to spread and distribute-the ma- L 

